Central Asia and the Silk Road

Central Asia and the Silk Road
Author :
Publisher : Springer
Total Pages : 297
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783319512136
ISBN-13 : 3319512137
Rating : 4/5 (36 Downloads)

Synopsis Central Asia and the Silk Road by : Stephan Barisitz

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the pre-modern economic history of Central Asia and the Silk Road, covering several millennia. By analyzing an abundance of sources and materials, it illustrates the repeated economic heydays of the Silk Road, during which it linked the Orient and Occident for many centuries. Nomadic steppe empires frequently dominated Central Asia, molded its economy and influenced trade along the Silk Road. The book assesses the causes and effects of the wide-ranging overland trade booms, while also discussing various internal and external factors that led to the gradual economic decline of Central Asia and eventual demise of the Silk Road. Lastly, it explains how the economic decline gave rise to Chinese and Russian colonialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. Detailed information, e.g. on the Silk Road’s trajectories in various epochs, is offered in the form of numerous newly drafted maps.

The Silk Road

The Silk Road
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 374
Release :
ISBN-10 : UOM:39015000592595
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (95 Downloads)

Synopsis The Silk Road by : Sven Anders Hedin

Silk Road to Ruin

Silk Road to Ruin
Author :
Publisher : NBM Publishing
Total Pages : 324
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781561638871
ISBN-13 : 1561638870
Rating : 4/5 (71 Downloads)

Synopsis Silk Road to Ruin by : Ted Rall

Part graphic novel travelogue, part tongue-in-cheek travel guide, this collection gathers the adventures of caustic cartoonist Ted Rall in the wild and woolly central Asian countries, a veritable powder keg sitting atop the oil the world will need tomorrow. The book combines articles with comics in chapters that relate Rall’s experiences retracing the legendary Silk Road, from the sublime history of China to the absurdity of the present-day petty dictatorships of the “The ’Stans,” to which the author had the temerity—or perhaps stupidity—to return, including once with a group of listeners on his radio show, on a dare. This always-lively compendium offers readers an exotic adventure, satire, and a fun way to find out more about an often overlooked part of the world that looms in importance with its immense, and immensely coveted, reserves of oil.

The Long Game on the Silk Road

The Long Game on the Silk Road
Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages : 163
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781538114650
ISBN-13 : 1538114658
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Synopsis The Long Game on the Silk Road by : S. Frederick Starr

This book argues that American and European policies toward Central Asia and the Caucasus suffer from both conceptual and structural impediments. It traces the framework of Western policies to the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, which resulted in the stovepiping of relations into political, economic, and democracy categories – and in often uncoordinated or contradictory policies. While the authors embrace the goal of promoting human rights and democracy, they argue that the antagonistic methods adopted to advance this goal have proven counter-productive. They propose that Western governments work with the regional states rather than on or against them; and that instead of focusing directly on political systems, policies should focus on developing the quality of governance and help build institutions that will be building blocks of rule of law and democracy in the long term. The authors also argue that Western leaders have largely failed to grasp the significance of this region, relegated it to a subordinate status and thus damaging western interests. The development of sovereign, economically strong, and effectively self-governing states in the Caucasus and Central Asia is an important goal in its own right; the book stresses the importance of a region where the development and preservation of secular statehood could become a model for the entire Muslim world.

The New Silk Roads

The New Silk Roads
Author :
Publisher : Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages : 524
Release :
ISBN-10 : STANFORD:36105124095170
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (70 Downloads)

Synopsis The New Silk Roads by : S. Frederick Starr

The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century

The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century
Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Total Pages : 329
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780691185408
ISBN-13 : 0691185409
Rating : 4/5 (08 Downloads)

Synopsis The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century by : Richard Pomfret

This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. Richard Pomfret examines the countries’ relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe. The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. Pomfret considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China’s announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of United Nations sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan’s presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures.

Silk and Cotton

Silk and Cotton
Author :
Publisher : Abrams
Total Pages : 783
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781683355571
ISBN-13 : 1683355571
Rating : 4/5 (71 Downloads)

Synopsis Silk and Cotton by : Susan Meller

The traditional textiles of Central Asia are unknown treasures. Straddling the legendary Silk Road, this vast region stretches from Russia in the west to China in the east. Whether nomadic or sedentary, its peoples created textiles for every aspect of their way of life, from ceremonial objects marking rites of passage, to everyday garments, to practical items for the home. There were suzanis for the marriage bed; prayer mats; patchwork quilts; bridal ensembles; bags for tea, scissors, and mirrors; lovingly embroidered hats and bibs; and robes of every color and pattern. Author Susan Meller has spent years assembling the 590 textiles illustrated in this book. She documents their history, use, and meaning through archival photographs and fascinating travelers’ narratives spanning many centuries. Her book will be a revelation to designers, collectors, students of Central Asia, and travelers to the region. Silk and Cotton is destined to become a classic.

The New Silk Road Diplomacy

The New Silk Road Diplomacy
Author :
Publisher : UBC Press
Total Pages : 275
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780774858946
ISBN-13 : 077485894X
Rating : 4/5 (46 Downloads)

Synopsis The New Silk Road Diplomacy by : Hasan H. Karrar

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, independent states such as Kazakhstan sprang up along China's western frontier. Suddenly, Beijing was forced to confront internal challenges to its authority at its border as well as international competition for energy and authority in Central Asia. Hasan Karrar traces how China cooperated with Russia and the Central Asian republics to stabilize the region, facilitate commerce, and build an energy infrastructure to import the region's oil. While China's gradualist approach to Central Asia prioritized multilateral diplomacy, it also brought Beijing into direct competition with the United States, which views Central Asia as vital to its strategic interests.

Empires of Ancient Eurasia

Empires of Ancient Eurasia
Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Total Pages : 317
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781107114968
ISBN-13 : 1107114969
Rating : 4/5 (68 Downloads)

Synopsis Empires of Ancient Eurasia by : Craig Benjamin

Introduces a crucial period of world history when the vast exchange network of the Silk Roads connected most of Eurasia.

The Silk Road: Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran

The Silk Road: Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran
Author :
Publisher : Tauris Parke
Total Pages : 240
Release :
ISBN-10 : 183860037X
ISBN-13 : 9781838600372
Rating : 4/5 (7X Downloads)

Synopsis The Silk Road: Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran by : Jonathan Tucker

Stretching from the ancient Chinese capital of Xian across the expanses of Central Asia to Rome, the Silk Road was, for 1,500 years, a vibrant network of arteries that carried the lifeblood of nations across the world. Along a multitude of routes everything was exchanged: exotic goods, art, knowledge, religion, philosophy, disease and war. From the East came silk, precious stones, tea, jade, paper, porcelain, spices and cotton; from the West, horses, weapons, wool and linen, aromatics, entertainers and exotic animals. From its earliest beginnings in the days of Alexander the Great and the Han dynasty, the Silk Road expanded and evolved, reaching its peak during the Tang dynasty and the Byzantine Empire and gradually withering away with the decline of the Mongol Empire. In this beautifully illustrated book, which covers the Central Asian section of the Silk Road - from Lake Issyk-kul through Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, the Kyzyl Kum Desert, Khiva and Merv to Herat, Kabul and Iran - Jonathan Tucker uses travellers' anecdotes and a wealth of literary and historical sources to celebrate the cultural heritage of the countries that lie along the Silk Road and illuminate the lives of those who once travelled through the very heart of the world.